Fate's Irony
by Firestorm2004
Summary: He'd dared to hope, dared to dream, and in one instant, it was forcibly ripped from him. Sentenced to die for a crime he didn't commit, Harry soon learns not all is as it seems. And sometimes, second chances do occur – when least expected.
1. Prologue

Fate's Irony

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter._

Prologue

It was the trial of the century. Every paper had reporters attending, cataloging the events as they were made. Many reporters' careers were built from the whole escapade that the wizarding world followed with a passion. On the streets, debates rang out back and forth as the citizens questioned whether the suspect was innocent or guilty. For most, the brutality of the crime, along with the previous exposés in the papers, immediately declared him in the wrong, and thus his life in forfeit. The evidence against him was that strong.

The prosecution levied one damaging testimony after another against him, and ripped through the meager walls the defense tried to put up. The attorney for the defendant clearly didn't want the case. Even he thought his client was guilty, and didn't want to ruin his career by letting the 'guilty' defendant off the hook. So the Ministry of Magic attorney had a free pass to make a mockery of the court, and, as expected, in the end, the accused was found guilty of all charges against him.

As he stared down at the young man he was about to sentence, the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, couldn't help a bit of a smile. He'd finally won the war against his enemies, and with this trial just about over, his opponent wouldn't have much left to stand on. Not that he would live long beyond this anyway. He was once again proven he was in the right, despite what the opposition had tried to have published against him.

"A jury of your peers has found you guilty of triple homicide. Do you have any last words before you are sentenced?" his booming voice echoed in the large court room.

Silence was all that answered him. Just like every time before.

"Very well," he paused, taking a deep breath, before saying as gravely as he could, "Harry James Potter, you are here-by sentenced to death by The Veil. The normal sentence of the Dementor's Kiss has been passed over due to extenuating circumstances involving both the ages of your victims and the brutal method used to end their lives."

Again, silence rang. The defendant had said nothing the entire trial, letting his 'lawyer' do all the talking, never offering a word in his own defense or an alternative explanation.

"The sentence shall be carried out in one hour."

A cough to his left reminded him of the new law that had been passed just a few days before the incident that brought the trial into existence.

Fudge sighed, and nearly growled out, "In accordance to W.M.L 231-2, you shall be allowed ten minutes with your guardian, starting right now."

Everyone watched as Remus Lupin, one of the only people to still be standing beside the "Boy-Who-Lived" since his initial arrest, walked up to where Harry sat, bound to the chair by chains.

The Minister of Magic wasn't sure how Albus Dumbledore managed to get the werewolf instated as the boy's guardian, but in the end it was utterly useless. The boy had proven his point, that the young lad was mentally unstable, and was not to be trusted in the least. Best of all, he had done in a way that removed most of his support, and even had his former friends turn against him; those that were still alive.

It was a glorious day to be in office.

------------

Remus Lupin looked down at the small, skinny form of his friends' son. The boy wasn't looking at him, just staring off into space, the same way he had ever since he'd first heard of the deaths that had started the whole mess.

"Harry," he said quietly, hoping the young man would look at him. "I know you didn't commit murder, Harry. I know you're innocent."

He hoped his words would reach the mind the broken form in front of him, but it was to no avail. Nothing came out of him. No sound, no movement.

Remus sighed, as he said the next few words. "I know this is hard to believe, but this will all work out in the end. I'm positive of it – just like I am that you never murdered Ron, Hermione, or Ginny."

Again, nothing.

He placed his hand on Harry's shoulder, and spent the next several minutes trying to reach out to the tortured soul, but no matter what he did, he got no response, no affirmative that the wizarding child was even mentally alive anymore.

"Your time is up!" Minister Fudge's voice rang out. "The convict will now be escorted to the Department of Mysteries where the families of the victims will watch the sentence carried out."

Remus nodded and stood up, and when his hand left the defendant's shoulder, an unnoticed, dull blue light shined for three seconds before disappearing.

------------

Albus Dumbledore had never felt older than he did at the current moment. His most prized student, the one he'd pinned all his hopes and dreams of a bright future to, had followed the dark path of a former student of his. Only this time, he'd gone farther than Tom Riddle ever did. While Tom had murdered a student while in school, it was someone he'd never associated with, in secret and shrouded in mystery, successfully blaming another, Harry had openly killed. Not only killed, but brutally murdered his best friends.

He still remembered in horror, the day his world turned on its head as Aurors entered school to inform him they were there to arrest Harry for murder, before he'd even found out about the attack. How they knew before hand, he still didn't know, and it was the only piece that bugged him about the entire situation. And, also, that he'd never believed Harry to be able to do that before it happened.

Now, he could only watch in silence as the world's last chance at salvation was killed because he'd forsaken the light, and be grateful the lad was stopped before he could do any more harm. He only hoped he'd be able to find another way to defeat Voldemort, now that the prophecy would be utterly invalid.

------------

As they watched the young man stand before the Veil, his eyes blank, and head angled down, the Weasley family couldn't help the contempt that rose in them. The young man was acting like he'd lost everything from his actions, when they were the ones hurting so bad, none of the family members got any sleep at night. Every time they closed their eyes, they would imagine the last moments of their son and daughter's , brother and sister's life, and could only weep at the horror their obsessed minds came up with. It was slowly destroying them, and it made them hate the cause of their heartache even more.

They'd denied the allegations against their children's friend at first, but as time went on, as more evidence was collected, as the truth of the final moments of Ron's and Ginny's lives came out, their feelings changed. At the end, they'd shown only anger and fury at the boy they'd taken into their home and treated as one of their own, so many years go.

Though he was now paying for his crimes, they felt it would never be enough. Never come close to repaying them for the betrayal and emptiness left by the hole in their family.

And in the ultimate twist of fate, they were the only ones to catch the look in his eyes as the Aurors pushed him through the veil.

The look of peace, of release from pain.

------------

Three figures watched unbeknownst to everyone in the room. The sight of their friend, almost completely broken, brought all them to tears, as he stared straight ahead, not knowing he was looking right at them. It wasn't fair, they knew. All the pain and suffering he'd suffered at the hands of others, only to be brought to unbearable proportions by the actions of a few.

"Do you think he'll ever forgive us?" Ginny quietly asked, staring at the tormented eyes of the man she loved.

Hermione shook her head. "I don't know. I don't know if he'll ever get over this."

"He will," Ron countered. "It'll take him time, but time is all we have right now."

Ginny sniffled, but nodded. "I hope you're right."

They watched in silence as their friend took one step, followed by another, slowly entering the Veil and transported to the realm they were in.

------------

Harry blinked as he looked around. When he walked through the Veil, he'd expected it to hurt, expected agonizing pain to fill him. Maybe it would be enough to bring atonement for him, for his crimes.

_No_, he thought a moment later. _Nothing can ever give me that. I'm damned._

But no pain came. It was as if walking through a curtain.

And on the other side, standing as if they were only waiting for him, were his friends. The ones everyone believed he'd killed in a fit of rage. Yet, the looks on their faces were anything but horror, distain, or fear.

"…"

He tried speaking, but nothing came out. He couldn't find his voice, couldn't express his sorrow for what'd happened.

A moment later, it was unnecessary.

As one, they wrapped their arms around him, holding him in a hug, and he let his tears flow. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry you're dead," he sobbed against them.

"About that, Harry," Hermione said, slightly hesitant. "You see, we're not dead. And neither are you."


	2. Chapter 1

Fate's Irony

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter_

Chapter 1

Harry stared at Hermione, not comprehending what she was saying. _Not dead?_ It was not possible. They were here, on the other side of the Veil, known also as the Veil of Death. How could they _not_ be dead?

"We're alive," his friend continued, quickly catching he had not understood her meaning. "We were never murdered. _You _never murdered us."

Harry shook his head. "That's impossible. I _watched _it happen! I saw your bodies! _I saw you die_!" His voice rose as he spoke, emotion clearly seeping through. The other three could practically feel the heartache.

"A fragment," Ginny countered, "a piece of what really happened." She shuddered as she drew a deep breath. "We had to make it believable."

Harry blinked at her words. _Make it believable?_ It sounded as if they had planned what had transpired from the beginning: the farce of a trial, and the conviction.

"Make what believable?"

His tone was harsh, yet soft. They could tell he wanted the truth, but at the same time, he was begging them not to tell him that what he was starting to believe was what had really gone on. It was something they couldn't do.

"We had to make the world believe you had killed us in a fit of rage, so they would send you through the Veil," Hermione whispered. She prayed to every god available that Harry would eventually learn to forgive them. "So you could train and return strong enough to take on Voldemort."

She hoped he would focus on the last thing she said, that he would understand her meaning, her explanation, but his mind never processed the second part of her speech. He focused on one thing only.

"So, you wanted everyone to ridicule me, to hate me, for me to hate myself? You wanted me to want to die, to contemplate suicide every single day I was in custody, to almost try to kill myself every week? You wanted me to become terrified of your family, to fear everyone except Remus, to stare at the Veil and be _thankful_ that after the entire circus, I was finally getting the release I'd so desperately wanted? You wanted me to beg God, Merlin, Allah, or any other god out there to reassure me that this wasn't really happening, that you weren't really dead, that I hadn't had to watch as the life fled from your eyes, unable to do anything but _**scream, rant, and weep in silence**_?"

The young man stared at her, and as she watched, something dark, something furious, overcame the light in his eyes. She shivered at the sarcasm and, Merlin forbid, _hate_ dripping from his words. It was the worst case scenario she had thought of, and it was going to get worse.

Much worse.

"There's more," Hermione finally said.

"More?" Harry laughed, his dark humor sparking. "Bring it on. What could be worse than this? My own best friends, my _girlfriend_ decided to destroy my life – and what for? A gimmick? A laugh? Or is it for a more completely selfish reason than that?" He glared at them, daring them to destroy the last shreds of respect he held for them.

They had no choice.

"You are here for five years. There's no way out."

------------

Silence dragged on for several seconds after Hermione's quiet declaration, before Harry's dark laugh returned.

"So, you not only destroyed my life, you had to make sure everyone else I even remotely loved will be destroyed by Voldemort and his Death Eaters before I even get a chance to try to take him down again?" His voice dropped several octaves, and he growled out, "**Five years?** You might as well declare the war over. He's already won."

Ginny finally lost the battle with the tears that had been pooling behind her eyes. She silently shook with sorrow as the drops slowly rolled down her cheeks. He was beyond furious with them. She could tell by the tone of his voice, he wouldn't want anything to do with them anymore. In their zeal to save his life, they had eradicated his trust and friendship. And now, they would get their just reward.

Hermione, unfortunately, did not realize that, and the younger girl could only watch in horror as she made the situation even more volatile. "We had to, Harry! It was the only way!"

Fury flashed in his eyes, as he clenched his fists. "_**The only way!**_" His tone warned against angering him further.

Hermione did not listen. "We had to find a way to keep you alive! You needed time!" she protested, before saying the worst possible thing. "I won't apologize for trying to keep you alive!"

Ginny's heart stopped as she saw her worst nightmare come to life. The sanity in Harry's eyes, however thinly held it was, snapped completely. In an instant, he was standing in front of her, his arm back, swinging forward to strike. The others tried to move to stop him, but the sound of flesh on flesh, and seeing Hermione's head snap back surprised them all.

Even in the most pessimistic parts of her mind, Ginny never believed Harry would actually attack any of them, even after what they had done. But, watching as Hermione flew backwards, landing on her rear and holding a hand to her cheek, Ginny finally realized all bets were now off. She could no longer predict how Harry would react, for their actions had changed him too much.

The odds of Harry completely hating them were now so high, she would not even entertain the thought of ever getting back what they once had.

"Never say that again," Harry growled, his arm still extended. "You have no right."

Ginny began to pray, hoping someone would help fix the mess they had made; help Harry, for she feared they no longer could.

------------

Harry glared down at his former friend, his ears and head ringing with the blood lust flowing through his veins. One very small part of his mind wondered if he had finally escaped into insanity, like he had so devoutly wished during the trial, but it was lost amongst all the other internal voices demanding he make them pay for their actions.

He drew his arm back, noticing a white glow around his fist, but not worrying about it. He had no room for any emotion other than total and complete fury, he saw everything around him except the white light through a red cloud. The light forced his hand open slightly, and when it vanished, he found himself holding a knife with a blade about two inches long.

He smirked. Somehow, and he did not care how, this place they were in knew he wanted to hurt Hermione, to hurt them all, and had given him the means to do so in a more effective manner. The added bonus, as he saw it, was unless he was careless, he wouldn't kill her. Not for a very long time.

_They deserve this,_ he thought as he swung his arm down, the knife angling for her left leg.

Out of the corner of his blood-lusted eyes, he could see the two Weasley siblings move towards him, but knew they would never make it in time to stop him. He smirked as he watched Hermione's eyes grow large with the understanding he was going to purposely try to hurt her.

The sound of flesh striking flesh broke the silence that had reigned for the short time.

------------

Ginny and Ron stopped moving, staring in surprise at the spectacle in front of them. This was not even close to how they had first believed the "reunion" would go, and Harry's reactions earlier only made it worse. They thought they had hit the strangest outcome possible, but what stood before them, shocked them to their core.

Sirius Black, escaped convict, was gripping Harry arm, stopping the blade just inches away from entering Hermione.

"This isn't the right way to do things, Harry," he admonished, looking at the surprised young man.

Harry growled and tried to rip his arm out of the man's grip, succeeding in only causing Sirius to take a step closer. "You have no idea what they did to me," he sneered.

"What they did? I know. How you now feel? I can't even begin to imagine, though I'd like to believe I can get close."

"No one can," Harry muttered, not looking at the others. "No one can compare their life to the hell my 'friends' gave me for the last three months."

"Maybe, maybe not," Sirius countered. "We'll never know. But, you can't go on like this."

"Like what? Hating my friends for the pain they caused? Hating my mentor for forgetting about me? Hating the government for giving me a farce of a trial? _Hating myself for not having the courage to have killed myself before? __**For still wanting to be with **_**them**_**? For WANTING TO FORGIVE THEM, DESPITE WHAT THEY'VE DONE?!**_" As his rant went on, everyone there could see he was slowly coming apart. His emotions were leaking out faster than anyone believed, and by the end, he'd raised his voice to the point of shouting.

Sirius sighed, knowing he had a long path ahead of him. He knew itwould take a lot of work to get Harry to trust the other three again, and itwould have to come from all of them, not just one or two.

_I'm sure glad the others gave me a crash course in training and dealing with intense when I got here,_ he thought. _Thank Merlin, we had over two years to prepare for this. I just wish they could be here too._

This was going to take some work, he knew, looking back at the disturbed young man.

------------

Harry's wild eyes looked around at everyone, not seeing what was there anymore. His fractured mind was coming up with different images to torment him with, mostly from the dream that had started all of the past events, as he saw it. No matter how many times he would shake his head, the image of a bloodied Hermione on the floor, wide unfocused eyes staring back, would not stop replacing the one in front of him. And whenever he looked sideways, images would replace the other two.

_No,_ Harry thought forcefully. _ That didn't happen. They're not dead. They weren't hurt…_

He could not explain, not even to himself, why he was so focused on reminding himself that they weren't dead, like he had seen every night he had closed his eyes for the past two and a half months. That they weren't covered in blood, and forced to suffer in progressively more horrific ways as time went on.

He wondered if his sanity had not already snapped, and it was just taking this long for the rest of his mind to catch on.

"Harry," Sirius continued. "I know it hurts, and I don't expect you to forgive them immediately. All I'm asking, all they're asking, is that you give all of us a chance to show you how sorry we all are."

Even with his mind going several different ways at once, Harry frowned at Sirius' comment. "You're sorry? You didn't do this. You had no part of this."

Sirius nodded. "I may not have done anything to get you into the current situation, but I did help it come about. I was too reckless, back in the Department of Mysteries. I wasn't paying any attention to the battle, and ended up losing my life because of it."

"Then how are you sorry?" Harry could not understand the older man's feelings. If he had not contributed to hurting him, how was he at fault?

"Because I started this chain of events and then left you alone, when you needed me the most."

Sirius's simple comment rocked Harry's world. It was true, during the last two months he had complained and blamed, in his head, to and about Sirius, but he didn't expect the man to understand what he'd been thinking, nor apologize for it. Then again, he didn't even think hewould get a chance to see him again.

Harry shook his head as most of his anger left him. "You had no idea what would happen. How can you be responsible for what has occurred since?"

"Still, I do have some fault. I don't know why, but when I arrived here, back in June, I learned several things. Within one year, the war would be over, and you would be dead. I was shown this by the **Fates**, who aren't very happy with Tom Riddle. Apparently, he was supposed to have died back when he attacked your parents, but through forbidden and perverse magic, he cheated death.

"In one year, he'd have killed Dumbledore, thinking the Headmaster was training you to be able to fight him. One month later, the day before your birthday,. He would kill you before your powers matured.

"The **Fates** didn't want this to happen, for Riddle was sending them too many souls before their time, so they allowed me to come up with a way to change what was coming. There was only two restrictions: I couldn't tell you, and Voldemort wasn't allowed to find out you were being changed by my hand."

"So what did you do?" Harry was curious. With the rules Sirius had told him, it didn't sound like anything could be done.

"I sent dreams to your three friends."

------------

Ron, Ginny, and Hermione looked at each other in surprise. They hadn't expected Sirius to be the cause of the strange dreams they'd had that had made them consider what was going to happen in the future. Hermione had guessed that it was their brains' way of deciphering the possibilities of their lives, and what choices they'd possibly make. Ron and Ginny thought it was a higher being's way of warning them of the consequences of certain actions.

When all three had talked about the dreams, they had come to the conclusion something had needed to be done, and from then on, they had searched for a plan. One, the start of which, Hermione had found just days before they'd returned to Hogwarts. It took them another almost month to iron out the details of it, before 'letting' Voldemort know his part.

And Voldemort had surprised them all.

------------

Sirius wondered what effect his next words would have on the fracturing young man looking at him. He knew, contrary to the harsh mask the boy was showing, that Harry was very fragile right now, and anything could set him off, possibly for good. Yet, at the same time, he knew he needed to tell him about his prior actions, so Harry would finally get the full picture of what had happened.

"Dreams? What dreams?' Harry asked, confusion evident in his eyes.

"I 'showed' them what the future could possibly look like, if things didn't change. I'd hoped they'd find a way to be able to get you the training you needed, without anyone else being the wiser. And though it hurts to say, I also have to admit, they did succeed beyond my imagination. I know they really hurt you with their actions, but at the same time, they were trying to help you. I just think none of us expected it to go this far."

Harry frowned. "Go this far? What do you mean? Is this _not_ what _they_ planned?" He spat out the words, fury still dripping from his voice.

Silence lasted several minutes, before Ron answered.

"No, mate. This isn't what we had planned. It's what we were forced to do."

"We wanted to find a way to allow you to have access to the Veil sometime in the near future," Hermione went on to explain. "For we knew once we got you near it, we could activate our original plan and have you come here to train, with everyone else thinking you were just another, helpless victim sent to an early demise.

"We even let V-v-voldemort know you were still obsessing about the Veil in hopes he'd try to lure you to the DoM again. We'd set it up to go with you when you did, and to 'accidentally' fall into the Veil with you, so you would have company to train with. We didn't expect Sirius to be here…

"We most especially didn't expect Voldemort to try something different."

Her words gave him pause, and he was quiet while he processed the information he'd received. In the end, he had to admit, their 'original' plan, if that is what it really was, was a much easier way to assure he got to the Veil, and sent inside. One that had a lot less heartache attached to it, as well.

"So, what went wrong?"

Ginny sniffled, before she answered, "He killed us."

Harry blinked. "You mean, that part is true?" After everything he had just found out, he thought they were still alive. "But, Hermione... you said you weren't dead!" He started hyperventilating, not able to withstand the thought of him having to leave without out them after the five years.

Hermione shook her head. "Thankfully, he didn't succeeded, though he believes he did. Wormtail was sent to kill us, and Crookshanks caught him before he got a chance to complete his mission. A bit of Veritaserum, and we found out what V-voldemort was up to. We knew, then, we had to act quickly. Nagini was to arrive later that night to verify he'd done his job. So, with a memory charm, and some magic, we made the snake think we were dead. We didn't realize, until it was too late, that you were seeing through the snake's eyes. By then, it was too late to do anything. If we had, V-v-... Tom would've known we were up to something."

"We couldn't take that chance," Ron added. "Not just for our safety,. But for yours as well. For, he'd have come after you in another way, one you might not have been prepared for."

Ginny stood up, from where she'd collapsed when Sirius had stopped Harry's mad rant. "I'm so, so sorry we hurt you, Harry. If there had been any other way, any way to let you know at all, without compromising everyone, I would've. In a heartbeat."

Harry remained silent, slowly going through everything he'd learned, and everything not said, but still relayed through body-language. He could tell Ginny, at least, was hurting for hurting him. She had genuinely tried to help him, and in the end, had been forced into a situation that had grown worse by the day.

"We were lucky we were able to convince Fudge to sentence you to the Veil, as opposed to Azkaban," Hermione quietly added. "If that'd happened, all would've been for not."

"How'd you do that?" Sirius questioned, curious.

Ron snorted. "That was probably the simplest part of all of this. All we had to do was send him a bunch of mail from his 'supporters' and those who were 'considering' changing allegiances asking for it instead of Azkaban, because of the... how'd it go? Oh yeah, 'seriousness of the crime, and previously documented instability'. I think that's how Hermione had us put it down."

Sirius laughed quietly. "That'd do it. Fudge would do anything for more votes. I always knew he was a political whore."

Harry agreed, shocked that, for once, his notorious fifth year, with all the slandering, had actually worked in his favor, even when he didn't know it at the time. And though it wasn't a situation he wanted, he was starting to see his friends had no choice in their actions. They had made their decisions based on what they thought and knew at that moment. He could not fault them for that.

"So, where does that leave us?" Harry asked, unsure. "I understand why you did what you did, but it doesn't make the hurt go away, Or the feelings of betrayal and helplessness vanish. I don't know how long it'll be before I can trust you again."

"Take you time, Harry," Ginny responded. "We can wait. We destroyed your life and trust in a matter of minutes. We don't expect to be able to rebuild that just as quick. We have five years here to show you we're sorry, and for you to learn to trust us once more."

Sirius smirked. "You may have five years, but the rest of the world only has one." He laughed as he watched their jaws hit the floor.

"Wait! I thought you said the end came around when I died in a year!" Harry protested. "How can I die, when I'm stuck in here?"

The laughter that came from the older man surprised the teens. "I never said it was for the end of the world."

"What?" Ron questioned.

"I mean, in one year, you four will be back out there, kicking some serious DE butt."

"That's not possible," Hermione immediately protested. "The book said, explicitly, we would be here for five years, and there was no way around it."

"You will be here for five years," Sirius agreed.

"But, you just said..."

"_You_ will be here for five years. To the rest of the world, you'll only be here for one. It's a little quirk that wasn't written down, for the spells you used were done so rarely, it wasn't though to be important," Sirius added, before Hermione could interrupt.

"So, we're here for five years..." Ron began, trying to understand. "But, to the others, outside of here, it'll only be a year?"

"Yup. Cool, huh?"

"That's still not possible!" Hermione argued. "You can't distort time!"

"So, says the girl who went back several hours to save me with her best friend," Sirius countered.

"Yes, well, that was only a small amount. Everyone knows you can't distort time by the factor you're claiming. It'd destabilize the entire space-time continuum."

"Not to mention, desecrate her precious books," Ron muttered, surprising everyone with both his comment, and use of a three syllable word.

Hermione glared at him, having heard every word.

"No, it won't. For we aren't trying to go backwards. There hasn't been much research into traveling into the future, mainly because the Ministry and everyone else wanted to 'fix mistakes' made before. It's where almost all laws governing time were created. This isn't about going back, but going _forward_. We don't have the same restrictions," Sirius explained.

"But, we're going to age five years, right?" Ginny questioned. "Will we look five years older, or one?"

"Five. Your physical bodies are here, unlike me. You'll take them with you when you leave."

"So, how do we train then?" Harry asked, finally warming up to the idea. If only one year was going to pass, it wasn't so bad. Voldemort wouldn't be able to do that much, with Dumbledore still fighting him.

Hermione moved to the side, a bit from where they'd all been talking, and grabbed a bag, one Harry hadn't even noticed when he first arrived. His attention had been on other things.

"I've brought different areas to study while we're here," she explained, as she lifted what appeared to be a really heavy container.

"You can put that back down," Sirius told her. "You might need it later on, but for now, I'll be training you."

Everyone looked at him in shock. They were not for sure how well he could do at teaching. He had been stuck in Azkaban for thirteen years, after all.

"I know, you don't think I can," Sirius said. "But, ever since I've gotten here, I've been training with Merlin, the four founders, and even your parents, Harry."

"My... parents?" Harry whispered. If Sirius saw his parents, then surely they could see him, right?

"Yes, and they said to tell you they're proud of how you've grown. I'm sorry, but they can't come here to see you themselves. The only reason I can see you is because I fell through the Veil. Because of that, I'm almost stuck halfway between life and death. Thus I can visit both, to a certain extent."

Harry nodded. It'd been a nice dream/wish/whatever, while it had lasted all of three seconds.

"Are you sure you could train us? You only had six months to be trained in," Hermione asked. "Is that really long enough?"

"Hermione, remember what I said about it lasting five years in here for every year out there? Well, I was affected by the same. I had almost two and a half years of lessons crammed down my throat by the greatest wizards to ever live. All to teach you four, though I didn't even know it at the time. Now, I get a chance to train you to change the world, and I believe I can."

Harry nodded. "Then, let's begin."

Sirius grinned, his face reflecting what Harry imagined it must have looked like during Sirus's pranking days, as he pulled out a wand. "Very well, your trip through hell begins right now."

A/N: Many thanks to my beta, for without who, this story would not be as good.


	3. Chapter 2

Fate's Irony

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter_

Chapter 2

Three months.

For three months, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny had tried to mend the bridges burned by their actions, tried to repair the shattered pieces of their friendship, and Harry still remained almost as stand-offish as when they had begun. Sure, he was not yelling at them when his anger rose, but the emotional wall between them was still as solid as ever. At one time or another, each had given into the dread of never mending the once-solid bond, only to bolstered by the other two. Sirius was the only one immune from the young man's cold shoulders. Every evening, without fail, the two men would walk off from the group and talk.

Tonight was no different. The three once more watched the two leave the 'living quarters' of the training area, heading for a place several yards away, where they wouldn't be overheard.

"How's it been?" Sirius questioned as he and Harry sat staring off into nothingness, just watching the bluish-green sky above them.

The place they were in wasn't marked by the passing of days like they were used to. It never got dark, but was never bright as the noon day either. The closest they could describe it was morning just before the sun broke the horizon. A semi-bright light from everywhere and nowhere, having no distinguishing source.

They marked time by a clock they'd found in their sleeping quarters. Everyone hoped the clock never broke, for they'd never know if it did. Hermione had even gone so far as to cast an unbreakable charm on the timepiece, hoping to avoid any future problems. She'd also created a calender and used it to mark the passage of 'seasons,' not that the temperature ever changed.

Harry had recognized his former friends' efforts to make the situation comfortable for him, to ease the pain of separation he felt from everyone else he cared for, but he could not change his feelings about them, no matter what he tried.

Harry remained silent for several minutes, debating whether to bring up the topic he'd been wondering about the past few days. He could not decide which direction he should go, and was close to asking the older man his opinion.

"What is it?" Sirius asked, realizing Harry had something big to talk about.

Finally, the younger man opened up – as much as he ever did, in any case.

Harry sighed. "I don't get it…" he muttered. "I-I can't open up to them like before. I want to, a big part of me wants to, but the hurt I felt… the pain from before… I just... I don't think I can convince my heart to allow that possibility to happen once more. I… I don't know what to do anymore."

Sirius nodded, understanding the younger man's plight. He had experienced a similar problem with Remus, when he first had stayed with the Marauder after they had been reunited.

"It's going to take time," he acknowledged. "More time than what's passed. It's going to hurt. You've locked up yourself so tight to avoid any more pain, no one is able to reach you. You have to release the fear of betrayal, which won't be easy. You're going to have to open yourself up to them, even if it's just a bit, so that they can get the chance to prove to you they don't want to cause you pain again. It doesn't have to be much, but whatever crack you allow in the wall between you and them, all of you must work on expanding it without injuring anyone."

"So, what should I do, then?"

Sirius thought about it for several minutes, trying to find something Harry could do to show the other three he was trying without leaving himself too unprotected to be comfortable.

"Where are you sleeping?" the older man finally asked.

The question startled Harry. "You mean… you don't ever check up on us?"

"No. I don't like it, but you all have to grow up quickly, and you must fix the breaks in your friendships by yourself. If I was to stay with you, or even check up on you four, I believe it would cause more harm than good. I'm trusting you four to behave yourselves, but honestly, I don't see that being a problem." _At least, not right now,_ Sirius thought.

Harry nodded, as understanding dawned. "I'm in the room we first discovered when… whatever this place is, created the sleeping area."

None of them, Sirius included, were sure what to call the area they lived in. It was not the veil, for Sirius confirmed that the ..._window_ led straight for the afterlife, but neither was it Earth. The best anyone (Hermione) could come up with was that it was in between life and death, and as such, had peculiar rules and abilities. One ability, not the least, made it like the Room of Requirement, in that it provided the users with whatever they wanted.

The first thing to appear, after their initial meeting, was a sort of bunker, complete with several bunk beds and a room off to the side. Harry had taken one look at the separate room and immediately claimed it as his. No one even tried fighting him for it. The other three slept in the 'common' room, as they'd started calling it, with dividing screens in one corner in case someone needed to change and the one bathroom was occupied.

They'd found out very quickly that they had no need of food, nor sleep - not in the traditional sense. They did sleep every little while, to allow their brains to process their experiences, but sleep was not required. They never felt physically tired for long. When they finally were worn out emotionally, or mentally, they would head into the rooms the place had provided, and 'nap' for a couple of hours to recoup. It'd taken several tries to understand the fastest way of falling asleep and awakening feeling mentally refreshed.

It was during these times Sirius left them, not mentioning what he did, and they never asked.

"So why do you want to know where I sleep?" Harry asked.

"Do you want an easy way to show you're trying to open up, without putting too much of yourself out there? Think about it. What could you do different?" Sirius didn't want to tell him, feeling it was better if the younger man discovered it himself. Then he would also see the reasons behind it.

Harry thought about what Sirius was asking, but could not see where he was going. _A way to show I'm trying to open up? Without really opening up?_ He wondered it the ex-Marauder had finally lost it. _How is that possible?_ He shook his head. The question was crazy! An oxymoron. How could he do something without doing it?

Sirius chuckled, seeing the confusion on Harry's face. "Here's a hint. It's all about perception."

_Perception?_ Harry questioned. _What does perception have to do with it?_

Sirius remained silent as the younger man pondered the apparent paradox. Inwardly, he chuckled. He knew Harry knew the answer, but because it was so obvious, he would initially dismiss it – which was why Sirius was forcing him to think more on it.

Studying the teen's face, Sirius knew the instant the answer dawned on him.

"I move into the general room with the rest of them?" Harry's voice was quiet, as if he was not positive of the validity of his response.

Sirius nodded. "Exactly. You moving in with the rest of them would show them you're not as afraid of them, not as worried about their actions."

"Why?"

"Right now, you sleeping in another room, with a wall and door closed in between you and them, it's a physical reminder of the emotional wall between the four of you. By removing the reminder, you're also saying you want to mend the bridges burned, and you are willing to meet them part way.

"Plus, it doesn't harm you anyway, for you aren't worried about them hurting you physically, only emotionally. And if it becomes too much, you can always retreat into the side room, though I advise against doing so, unless it's absolutely necessary," he warned. "If you do, after moving out there, it would tell them, especially Hermione, you don't trust them, can't get over what they did, and probably won't ever."

It was Harry's turn to nod. "So, if I move out there, it'd better be for good."

As he closed his eyes, Harry had only one thought. _Is this worth it? Are they worth it?_

It was two 'nights' later before Harry finally worked up enough gumption to try his godfather's suggestion. Initially, when they had all retired, he had gone into his room, wondering if the decision he had come to during that day's training was the right one. Finally, he dragged his Gryffindor courage out of the closet it was hiding in, grabbed the blanket and pillow he used, and walked back out the door.

He saw Ron, Hermione, and Ginny talking quietly while lying down on their beds. The room had initially created eight beds, all singe, with four on each side. After two 'nights', four of the beds (one side) had disappeared, but for some reason, the fourth unused bed had never vanished. Now, Harry was grateful. Maybe this place knew he wanted to rebuild his relationships with them all along, and so left him an opening to use.

The three of them quieted and looked at him in surprise when he stopped at the side of the empty bed, which happened to be the one closest to the door to his room.

"Harry?" Ginny questioned, softly.

Harry did not reply, just laying down on the bed and covering up with the blanket, before muttering, almost silently, "Goodnight." Strangely, it was loud enough they all heard him.

As he quickly fell asleep, Harry thought, _That wasn't too difficult after all._

If he'd remained awake, he could've seen the expressions of shock and then happiness cross the other three's faces.

_Maybe there is hope left,_ they all thought before falling asleep themselves.

The next three months passed, with everything remaining status quo. Every time they slept, Harry would appear from his room, lie down in the empty bed, and mutter "Goodnight" before falling asleep. No one tried to talk to him about it, but they were grateful for the small step Harry had made, and promised themselves, once more, to do everything within their power to make sure to never break any trust they received again.

Harry, on the other hand, was surprised at how easy he found it to take the step once he decided to – and how easy it was to keep doing it. He thought it would be trying for him to place that much (or little) faith in them, but he had not had a problem yet. His mind was miraculously clear of thoughts of them betraying him again. No, instead, he had other things running through his head at night.

Finally, he decided to bring it up, his curiosity overcoming his fear of opening up to them.

"Hermione?" he asked one night, as they were lying in bed. "Why didn't I die if I was sent through the veil? Like Sirius?"

Needless to say, the young woman was surprised. She knew the question would be asked eventually, and would need to be answered, but she had not expected for him to bring it up so soon, just after he was finally starting to open up to them again.

Nevertheless, she would answer – she had to, to keep his trust in them building.

"When you were sent through the veil, we knew and were prepared for it. I had spent time researching, trying to find a way to train you quickly, and one of the options we'd come across was the veil. However, it required spells to be cast beforehand on the veil and on the people entering for it not to remove your soul from your body. This way, you could train here."

"And here is what, exactly?" Harry asked.

"Like we mentioned before, this is a place that's in between life and death. Sirius can't come back to life, because he no longer has a body, and we can't go to death, because we do have bodies. In fact, none of the dead can come here, because we're still more on the 'alive' side than the 'dead' side."

"Then Sirius..."

"Can be here because this is where he 'died'. Rules have always been a bit bent when dealing with where a person died, the place their soul made the transition between the two worlds. That is the only reason Sirius can come here. Sorry, Harry. I know you wanted to see your parents, but it's impossible."

Harry sighed, not all that surprised. It was the story of his life – nothing ever went right for him. Ever.

"Then, how'd I not die?"

Hermione smirked slightly. "Remember when Professor Lupin put his hand on your shoulder during the trial?" Harry nodded. "There was an attached spell, that when it touched you, cast the needed spell on you. We'd already cast the one on the veil, for we would enter it before you, and that spell has a life of a day."

Harry was shocked. "Professor Lupin was in on it?"

Hermione nodded. "He wasn't supposed to be, initially, but when Voldemort forced us to act, we had to have someone else in on it, and he was the only one we could think of who would let us follow through with our plan and we could trust to help you as well."

Harry was not sure what he felt at the moment. There was some residual anger at his father's friend, but at the same time, he was starting to understand the reasoning they used for such an action. Moreover, he was a bit worried that he wasn't more angry with the man. After all, Lupin had helped 'destroy' his life, as he had once thought. Did this mean he was slowly healing from the events?

He did not know, but was sure Sirius would have some thoughts on it.

"Oh," he responded, not knowing what else to say.

Hermione took the hint, and chose not to ask any more questions, or offer more explanations; instead, she whispered "Goodnight," rolled over, and proceeded to fall asleep.

Harry was up for several more hours, going over what he had been told, before coming to the conclusion the other three had done their best in a very bad situation, and had never intended to harm him, no matter what he had thought at the time.

He felt surprisingly free in that regard.

Harry sagged against the wall, and held his head in his hands. Though he'd managed to feel comfortable with sleeping in the same room as the others, he couldn't bring himself to fix the one thing his heart wanted more than anything else: his relationship with Ginny.

She had been very understanding so far, not pushing him for anything, but at the same time, he knew she would never push – not with the 'wrongs' she had committed beforehand. The pace of their relationship was totally based on how fast (or slow) he wanted to go. And there in lay the problem.

He wanted more… desperately. But, on the other hand, he wanted to make sure he wouldn't go back to the same place even more. To open himself up to her again, would invite the possibility for a repeat, and this time… he was not sure he would even survive.

_No,_ he thought. _I know I wouldn't survive. I'd probably make sure of it._

So, he was stuck.

Did he go towards greater joy, and possibly greater heartache, or did he leave things the way they were, where he was sure he wouldn't get hurt. After all, he couldn't be hurt when he did not allow them to get that close again.

"Harry?"

Harry closed his eyes at the sound of her soft voice. Even now, while he was debating the very subject of what to do, it had the ability to send longing throughout his body. And it reinforced what he knew his heart wanted.

"What do you want?" he asked, sighing.

She gently moved over, and sat down against the wall. She was close enough for them to converse, but not close enough for him to feel as if she was invading his personal space, if he did not want her that close.

"I was wondering how you are handling everything," she replied.

"Would it matter if I said, I don't know?"

Ginny shook her head. "No. I get it's hard to take in. You thought you had lost us, then you find out we betrayed you. I take it you just don't know how to react, huh?"

"I wish it were that simple. I'm at war with myself. There's things I still want in life, but to get them…" Harry let out a short, almost haunting laugh. "Would I just be making it possible to be hurt again?"

Ginny's heart went out to the young man. She knew of his life, his entire life, where he had been set up for one heartache after another. And her betrayal was just the highest point of a string of pain. Part of her was surprised he still wanted anything to do with them in general.

"I don't have an answer for you, Harry," she told him. "I've always been told life is about taking risks, to get what you want. But, you… you have been burned so many times, I'm starting to believe it isn't worth it for you to keep trying, just so you don't get hurt. I know I was one of the ones to hurt you the worst, but I don't want to see you in anymore pain."

Harry was surprised to say the least. Out of all the others, he expected her to be the one to tell him to go out there and get what he wanted, no matter the consequences. He knew that was her philosophy before the latest twist in his life had started.

Had she changed that much in the three months he had been wishing he was dead?

"Why?" he asked. "Why did you change?"

Ginny closed her eyes, her arms wrapping around her legs. "I didn't want to do this to you, Harry. But, now that it happened, I can't stand the thought of you going back there. I saw your eyes – you were dead on the inside as you walked into the Veil. And I… I did that to the one I care about the most."

Harry watched her silently as her body shook, trying to hold back the tears.

"I vowed I wouldn't allow you to be hurt again. So, if opening yourself up to us, to Sirius, to anyone allows the possibility of pain, I don't want you to do it."

"Even if it might lead to us getting back together?" Harry questioned. She had told him before it was her greatest dream, when they had first started dating.

"Even… even then…"

Harry started to understand what she was doing. He had heard about it before, seen it before in others, but never had it happen to him. She was sacrificing her own happiness for him.

"Ginny…" he whispered, as the longing in his heart exploded exponentially. "I don't think I could live a life cut off from everyone. Yes, it might hurt," he added, stopping her protest. "But, in the end, I kept hearing people say the benefits would far out-weigh the risks, and I'm sure it' true. Just give me time."

Ginny nodded, letting her hair hide her face, so he could not see what her facial expression was. She felt fear and hope war within her, and she knew whatever lay ahead, she would do everything she could to protect him.

Harry stood up, and started walking off, having no where specific in mind. He knew they weren't ready to become a couple once more – they were not even close. But, this, he knew for certain, was a step in the right direction.

Over the next year, things became better for the four displaced youths. Harry was slowly opening himself up to them, and they were proving to him, in the limited fashion they have, that they deserved to be trusted once more. Laughter could be heard now at all times, and though he had not initially participated, now Harry was the main one making jokes – usually at Sirius's expense.

Though, today, Sirius was getting his payback.

"...And break!" he cried, watching as the four others collapsed where they were, not bothering to try to be dignified.

"Did you... have to... run us that ...ragged?" Ron complained, panting for breath.

"Of course, he did," Harry muttered. "He's such a slave-driver, a hardcore Drill Sergeant would be ashamed."

Sirius just grinned, raising his wand.

Harry groaned. "No, I'm wrong. The devil himself would be ashamed of Padfoot."

Three minutes passed with laughter and then silence, when it became all they could do to breathe.

Then, the four stood up. They pulled out their wands, fell into a battle stance, and prepared to begin once more. Their bodies were marked with multiple colored dots, showing where 'fatal' wounds landed, all courtesy of the older Marauder. Green marks for the killing curse were the most prominent, followed closely by the red slashes of a dark cutting curse. It was a dangerous variation the Death Eaters liked to use, for it refused to be healed by traditional means, and usually resulted in a fatality.

Sirius readied his wand, the tip end glowing a sickly green once more, before lashing out at the four. They dodged, and were quick enough to create a great distance between them, making it harder for the older man to hit them - if he played fair.

As a true Marauder, Sirius never played fair.

With three flicks of a wand, he created golems with wands and animated them to shoot the same colored attacks, allowing him to attack the four students one on one, without overextending himself. The others paid for it dearly.

They sat around in a circle, listening to their own breathing and Sirius's voice as he walked them through the meditation exercise. Their eyes closed, they all had, at one point or another, fought the urge to fall asleep.

"Breathe in," he commanded. "Hold for five seconds… one… two… three… four… five…"

As one, they let the breath out - then grinned. It was getting easier to think, as they were told, of nothing. Not completely, but easier.

"Picture yourself lying on the grass, watching your thoughts float on by, not bothering to be caught up in the emotions, just watching and understanding. If something comes up, watch as it goes by. As a feeling enters, let it go. Feel the emotions ebb and flow, starting at your foot and filling your entire body, then falling away, leaving you calm and unbothered.

"Don't judge emotions, don't judge your thoughts. Just watch and feel as they go by."

The exercise was to help them find the center of their magic – on the theory that once they did, it would only be the first step in learning wandless magic and animagus transformations – the first of many steps they would have to complete within the next two and a half years.

Harry watched the three others as they sat around talking while he chose to do extra 'meditating'. He was not really following the exercise, more using it as an excuse to watch what the others were doing. The past three months, he had seen more changes in them, from learning how to properly meditate, and so wanted to spend time trying to figure out where to go with them.

He knew he was slowly regaining the friendship he once shared with them, but at the same time, he felt like there was something missing: the relationship he had with Ginny, specifically.

While they had been dating, before the tragedy of his sixth year, she had shown him how to be more affectionate – both emotionally and physically. He was still surprised when he would miss it, when he was lying in his bed late at night.

He wanted it back.

He missed the closeness the two of them shared. Even when his heart wasn't sure about opening up again, it still wanted to feel wanted… to feel loved.

He shifted around, and the noise attracted the attention of the others. They looked at each other, as if trying to decide who would come over to see what was wrong, before Ginny got up, and quietly walked over, before sitting down near him.

"What's the matter," she gently asked, her voice barely carrying over to him.

He sighed as he replied, "I… I want certain things. Things that I don't know I have the right to ask for anymore."

He did not want to let her know what it was exactly. She might either take it the wrong way, or worse, immediately deny him that privilege he had so once enjoyed.

"What things are you wanting, Harry?"

Harry debated telling her a lie. He was not certain he wanted her to know of the conflict growing inside, but after a few more seconds, he realized it did not matter. Eventually, she would either figure it out, or he would tell her. Why bother with trying to hide it now?

"I want… I... I miss what we used to have. I miss the connection, the affection, the… closeness."

Ginny could only blink at his response. It was nothing like what she thought he would say. Not even close.

She had thought he would have more complaints about how things were going, how he was still having trouble opening up to them or Sirius.

"What do you want to do about it?"

She knew what she wanted, but refused to allow herself to influence his decisions. She had lost that right when she hurt him as badly as she had. Now, if anything were to happen again, it had to come from him.

Harry closed his eyes, his forehead scrunched up. Did he want to do something? Open himself up for possibly more damages, more injuries? Would it even be worth it?

The answer to the last question, at least, he knew immediate. Yes, it would be worth any risk.

He nodded to himself, before shifting over to sit directly beside her. He shakily raised his left arm and slowly wrapped it around her shoulders, not pulling tightly, but letting her know he wanted it. He could feel her stiffen, before relaxing, and laying her head on his shoulder.

"This," he whispered to her, a smile starting to stretch across his face. "This is what I'm wanting."

"Then, this is what you shall have."

Though he could not see it, Ginny was smiling as well. She had been missing this as well, and it would not even be close to a sacrifice for her to give them both what they wanted.

_And maybe, in the future,_ she told herself. _We can go even further._ The thought caused her to giggle silently.

Before they had realized it, three years had passed for them, and they were slowly, but surely, gaining strength. Hermione had remarked on how they seemed to be physically growing without consuming any substance, but the others had stopped her quickly, when she remarked about researching the reason why.

They were all of the same opinion – it worked, it did not hurt, so they did not want to know why. That, and if they let her, she would find out every little, mostly useless fact she could about the Veil, and tell them, whether they wanted her to or not. It was one of the most lovable and yet annoying traits she had.

They did, however, allow her to research ways to help with the training – when Padfoot was not trying to kill them with his own ideas.

Sirius continued to use the golems, increasing the number every few times by one, so as not to let them stagnate. He was pushing them as hard as he could, for he knew they would need it on the other side of the veil when they returned.

At the moment, the four were ducking and weaving in and out of the pack of stone creatures, which were firing as many spells at them as they could, all managing not to get hit… for the moment.

As he ducked under another green bolt, Harry noticed Ron was twisting right into the red 'stunner' his opponent had fired, and with a quick flick of his wrist, he created a shield to protect his friend.

Hearing the clang, Ron's eyes opened wide at the solid, milky white wall in between him and Sirius' puppet. He glanced to the right, over at Harry, knowing it had to be him, for the two girls were otherwise engaged on his left and had never seen the attack coming. But what surprised him the most was that Harry's outstretched arm did not have a wand extending from it.

"Holy, bloody hell…" the redhead muttered, realizing the 'Boy-Who-Lived' had finally managed to perform wandless magic – the first of the four of them to do so.

Harry, too, was staring at his hand, wondering how he managed to accomplish such an advanced spell while he couldn't normally even get a feather to float.

Everything stopped as Sirius' barking laugh rang out.

"Sure," the older man crowed. "You can't even lift a measly little feather in practice, but throw you and your friends into a life-or-death situation, and you start pulling rabbits out of your hat." Sirius shook his head in wonderment. "I swear you live to destroy common sense."

The girls stared at Harry in wonder and surprise, but both were pleased with his actions. Unknown to their trainer, the four had a friendly bet on who would manage wandless magic usable in a duel first. Now, Harry would get to hear his choice of embarrassing story from one of the three…

Harry shook his head, to get his mind back on track. "So what, Sirius? I haven't lived by the conventional norm since before I can remember."

Sirius nodded his assent. "I agree. And in this case, that's a very good thing. So, in celebration of my godson pulling off the supposedly impossible," he started grinning, conjuring new toys, "we now are going to take this to the next level."

The four 'teens' shook their head at his 'celebration gift'.

It was four life-like Death Eaters, complete with white facemasks, black robes, and wands. They stood ready, arms extended to hex their opponents, but not moving.

"You have to survive for the next twenty minutes without being hexed… by anything," Sirius added, smirking. "And, just for your information, they will not act like typical Death Eaters," he added, almost giggling. "Oh, no… nothing but the best for you. They'll be like fighting Malfoy, Bellatrix, Rodulphus, and Rookwood. Have fun."

At that, the four previously stationary 'dolls' jumped into action, and threw one powerful hex, curse, or jinx after another..

With sore muscles protesting their movements, the teens launched themselves sideways and rolled, Hermione narrowly avoiding a curse. They sprang back up, split into two pairs, and tackled their foes as best as they could – one defending against the onslaught, while the other tried to find a way to permanently bring two of the Death Eater look-a-likes down.

Nothing worked, but they did manage to survive the twenty minutes without being hexed. Barely.

There were several times one, or all four, wondered if they would survive the attack, even when the dolls were using nothing more than light spells and air-blasting curses, meant to move but not hurt them.

"Well, well," Sirius smirked, as the four lay panting on the floor after the battle. "A new level you can't touch."

Ron groaned, and flipped the older man off. "You're a bloody bastard, you know?"

Nothing could wipe the grin off of the Marauder's face, and he continued to 'praise' himself for finally creating opponents way out of their league. He had been trying to do that since the beginning, but they continued to surprise him with their abilities.

Having had enough, Harry decided to get back at their tormentor, and raised his wand. A silent spell later, and the four teens were roaring with laughter as Sirius started to sing and do the movements to 'I'm a Little Teapot' against his will.

Once it broke, the animagus turned on his godson, leveling his own wand. "Is this how it's going to be?"

Harry snickered, not bothering to hide his grin. "I wouldn't start that, if I were you. You're out numbered four-to-one, not to mention, we'll have the smartest witch, the greatest wizarding strategist, and my personal favorite, the fiercest female on the planet against you. You wouldn't stand a chance."

Sirius had to stop and ponder the younger man's remarks for several seconds, before he paled. "They wouldn't really help you, would they?"

The other three answered his question by pointing their weapons at him.

"On second thought, I'll just let you rest for tonight. It's safer that way."

"For you? Definitely," Harry responded.

Sirius knew when he was beaten, and bowed out as graciously has he could, trying to keep the remainder of his dignity intact. There wasn't much left.

Harry turned to the other four, and asked, "So, who wants to start the stories?"

The other three groaned, hoping he'd forgotten about it.

"Now, now, I want my stories. They should be entertaining, at the least."

Ron sat on his bed, watching his sister and best friend, though he was not certain if Harry still considered him as such, talking. He was happy the young man was open once more with them – maybe not as much as he had been before, but he was close.

"What're you thinking about?" Hermione's voice sounded from behind him.

"How far we've come in the last three and a half years. If you had told me during the first few months it was going to be like, I would've said you were insane. I'm still finding it hard to believe how much he's changed during the time we've been here."

Hermione grinned, and wrapped an arm around Ron. "I'm surprised how much we've all changed. Harry, Ginny, you …and me. We've grown. We're no longer children, but adults."

Ron nodded, wrapping his own arm around her. "Look at us, I would never have calmed down enough to notice there wasn't any competition at that age."

"But what are we, exactly, Ron?" Hermione asked, letting a small bit of confusion and fear into her voice. "Are we just friends who sometimes hold one another, or…"

Ron shook his head. "We're more, 'Mione. A lot more. I used to think I was no good for you, that you could do a lot better than me. And it made me bitter."

Hermione reached up, and turned his head towards her. "You are NEVER no good for me, understand? I've wanted this since second year."

Ron nodded. "And I, being a complete idiot, chose to ignore that I wanted you since fourth. I know it hurt, an-"

The rest of his sentence was cut off as Hermione kissed him.

"You never cease to amaze me, Harry," Ginny commented, lying back on the bed. "With as bad as we hurt you, here you are, trying once again."

Harry grinned. "I had something to work for, both before, and now."

Ginny smiled. "I'm glad you're getting better. I doubt you're fully healed, but I don't think anyone would be in this short time."

"Maybe, maybe not. Who's to say? But that isn't going to stop me." He laid down next to her, and she immediately snuggled up. "Besides, I'm starting to like this."

Ginny's laugh rang through the place, interrupting the other two's 'activity'.

Hearing cursing from beside them, Harry turned and saw his two best friends glaring at him.

"What?" he questioned. "You aren't liking this? I know for certain you two have been driving the rest of us insane, by not admitting you were wanting to snog. Now that you have, do you feel any different?"

Ginny covered her mouth, to hide her giggles while Ron and Hermione stared at him dumbfounded, not able to say anything.

"How?" Ron finally managed to get out.

Harry pointed to the metal railing of the bed. "I could see just enough detail to get the idea of what you were doing."

Ginny couldn't contain herself anymore, and burst out in contagious giggling, which Hermione became infected with immediately.

Harry looked at her, and finally gave into his instincts. Leaning down, he proceeded to gently kiss the fiery redhead.

Ginny stiffened for several seconds. Though she had been very affectionate towards him lately, they still hadn't done anything to signify they were coming back together as a couple. He had been very open with the fact he wanted to take it slow, and wasn't sure where they were going.

Now, he'd blown all she understood right out of the water.

As he was starting to pull back, assuming she did not want the attention from her inaction, Ginny wrapped her arms around him and yanked him back down, putting as much of her emotions – shock, surprise, and most of all, joy – into the kiss as she could, praying he could understand her.

Harry felt almost overwhelmed with what he was receiving. It was as if the past four years had been washed away, and they were back to just starting the dating experience. He knew this is what he wanted, for now and forever, and he wasn't going to allow it to be pulled from him again.

He flipped them over, so he would not crush Ginny, and continued the expression of their interest, while running his hands all over her back.

"Oi! Stop that."

Ginny broke the kiss just long enough to glare at her brother, before diving in for more.

Seeing the two weren't going to be stopping anytime soon, Hermione grabbed Ron's hand and proceeded to drag him out the door.

"Wait! Stop! We-" Ron protested

"We can leave them alone. They deserve this," Hermione countered. "Don't you dare go giving them a hard time."

Ron smirked. "I had to protest some," he said. "Otherwise, they would've thought something was up."

His comment stopped the young woman in her tracks. "You don't mind?"

Ron shook his head. "No. I've seen what losing that relationship did to Harry. I know he's going to treasure it, and her, as long as he as them. What more can a brother want? Besides, like you said earlier: We're now adults. I have to let them grow up sometime. And honestly, I think they are the best for one another."

Hermione placed her hand on Ron's cheek and lightly kissed him. "You really have grown up, haven't you?"

The fourth year passed by quickly, and soon they were approaching the final few 'months'. Sirius worked to continually push their limits, knowing as soon as they left the Veil's world, the four would be sucked into a war where the enemy gave no quarter. He was going to make sure they survived their 're-introduction,' while taking out all of their opposition, sure to surprise everyone.

The four students had surprised him with the speed with which they had learned the latest abilities he had taught them. It was all he could do to not leave his jaw on the floor, when not one, not two, but all FOUR had managed to change into their animagus forms, by themselves, within one 'week' of time, according to the clock. Now, they were lying around, enjoying both their accomplishments and the relationships that had grown during their time there.

All four had powerful forms and, he was sure if someone (Hermione) were to do the research, they would find they were reaching previously unattainable heights for the raw talent they were so blatantly displaying. Godric himself might have even turned green with envy at what any of them could do without trying.

Of course, as their trainer, he just could not let it go to their head. After all, a Marauder had to continually push himself, right? If they did not, they would eventually find themselves being outclassed, and that was something that just could not happen.

"Okay, playtime's over!" the older man shouted. "I want you to work on changing back and forth between both of your forms until you can change from human to animal and back in a second!"

The teens' eyes bugged out, but they knew better than to question him when Sirius's voice took on that tone. It was the only time he ever demanded full attention, and they gave it to him.

For the next three hours, they sat around in a circle, panting as they went back and forth, back and forth, until one by one, they managed to complete their teacher's instructions.

Sirius knew then he was seeing a miracle happen.

As far as he knew, from when he was alive, and from talking to everyone who trained him before taking up this task, no one had managed to accomplish so much, so quickly. In the nearly five years they had been there, all four had grown so extraordinarily strong he was positive they would be the four most powerful beings on earth when they returned.

_They are going to need it, too,_ he thought watching them silently for a few more seconds. _The changes they'll force on the wizarding population won't be widely accepted, or even contemplated. They have to have this power to back it up._

He gave a slight grin. _I can't wait to see what they do to the fools who try to stop them._

They stood in one line, looking at the man who helped them change the most. They were no longer the four unsightly teenagers, trying to take on a mission bigger than them. Now, they were adults, with the power necessary to back up their claims and follow through with their declarations. They were ready to change the world, and now it was time to let the world know it.

"I'm proud of what you four have accomplished in your time here," Sirius stated, looking at his young charges. "You have trained like there was no tomorrow, and have reached a level no one has heard of before."

Harry nodded. "It's been all thanks to you, Sirius," he acknowledged. "Without you, I do not believe I would've come to understand the reasons behind their actions, nor have been able to forgive them. Thank you."

The three others quickly thanked the older man as well, the girls giving him quick hugs.

"I'm extremely thankful for what you've done," Ginny whispered to Sirius, as she pulled him into her grasp. "You helped repair what I've come to cherish beyond anything else."

Sirius smiled softly, whispering back, "You deserved another chance. You had sacrificed your heart for the 'Greater Good', as Albus would say, and I wanted to see you got it back."

Ginny squeezed him once more, before pulling back and falling into line with the others.

"Okay, time's up, and now you need to head out. Remember, though you may want to save everyone, some people just aren't able to be saved. They've made the decisions that lead them into the darkness, and no amount of passionate words will be enough to pull them back. You have to remove them before they cause greater harm to those around you – especially the ones you care most about."

Harry nodded, and looked down. He noticed he could start to see through his hand and arm, and with a quick check on the others, verified they were leaving as well.

"We'll see you later, Sirius," he called out as they vanished.

"It'd better be in many, many years," the man replied, though no one was left who could hear him. "Just make sure to have fun."

And with a flash of light, the Marauder vanished from the training area behind the veil, never to return again.

A/N: Sorry about the long update. Real life sucks. Hopefully, the next chapter won't take as long. I want to thank my beta, _MinistryMalcontent, _for his help. Without it, _Fate's Irony_ would not be nearly what it is.


	4. Chapter 3

Fate's Irony

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter._

A/N: Sorry about the all the errors. I didn't realize MS Word hadn't implemented the changes my beta suggested, and just shoved them to the side. That's why I'm re-uploading this chapter.

Chapter 3

Albus Dumbledore sat at his desk, staring at the reports covering the top. There were notes of Death Eater movements, recruiting for the order (which was not going well for them at all), and of course, the different missions he assigned the members of the resistance. In all, the Light was losing.

_So many things have gone wrong, _he thought. _Where did I misjudge? Where did I make that fatal miscalculation?_

His mind flashed back over the last year. The trial of century of the former Boy-Who-Lived, now Boy-Who-Murdered, was, without doubt, the darkest point. The knowledge that one who was thought to be Light Incarnate committed such heinous crimes stunned the defenders. For several months after Potter's execution, there was no activity in the Fight against Voldemort, save a few missions he, himself, did. No one else, it had appeared, wanted to become the next Idol/Icon in the war, and because of that, Voldemort had reigned essentially unopposed, able to extend his influence dramatically beyond what it once was.

The Order of the Phoenix was still trying to recruit others to join. However, after the betrayal, new recruits could only be recommended by two unrelated or uninvolved members. The few remaining strong fighters were almost constantly attacking, or being attacked by, Death Eaters.

Whenever they captured anyone with the Dark Mark, they were turned into the Ministry, and within a couple of days, the Death Eaters were back out on the streets causing problems once more. What was more disturbing was, according to the latest information, witches and wizards were still joining Voldemort.

_We have lost,_ Dumbledore reminded himself. _No matter what we try, no matter how much we want it, we cannot win. The prophecy is concrete._

He was still surprised with the Minister's sentence. As head of Wizengamot, Dumbledore knew the sentence should've been declared as "Life in Azkaban, without the possibility of parole or release," but using an ancient law, not to mention some bribes, Fudge had the young man executed. It had destroyed Albus's entire plan.

He had intended for Potter to learn how to fight, Muggle style, while staying in Azkaban, then force the Final Battle to occur where he could control the outcome, and make sure Voldemort did not leave alive. But, by eliminating the Boy-Who-Murdered, all Fudge had done was to make Voldemort immortal, and hand him the Wizarding world on a silver platter. Because Potter was not killed by Riddle, nor had killed the Dark Lord himself, he did not fulfill the prophecy. And so, Voldemort was now as close to being a god as anyone could be, for the only one who could destroy him was gone.

He was truly lost on how they had any chance of survival.

The door slamming open did not startle the old man, but the shouting that came right after made him jump.

"Albus! Death Eater attack in Diagon Alley!" Remus Lupin cried as he ran into the room. "Dora contacted me after she couldn't get a hold of you."

Dumbledore stood up and motioned to Remus to come closer. "Fawkes will take us there."

The phoenix in question gave a hard look at the Headmaster, almost shaking his head, before taking off to allow them to grab his tail feathers. The relationship between the two companions had been strained ever since the Order's leader had Potter arrested and refused to believe in his innocence.

At the time, Dumbledore thought it was because the bird detested what the young boy had done, but as time went by and Fawkes' attitude did not change, Albus wasn't so sure. There were even times where the phoenix refused to help him, as if he blamed the Headmaster for the loss of the war.

It was a very unnerving feeling, for he had been firmly encamped in the Light, and now the creature that represented all that was good acted like he had done something terribly wrong.

Could he have made a mistake after all?

The shopping area was completely deserted and silent when the flash of light echoed in the alleyway, telling of the arrival of the two men. They had their wands out, ready to do battle, but both nearly dropped them when they didn't find the battle they were expecting. Indeed, this was as far from it as they could've believed possible.

The Death Eater force of over fifty was laid out, all clearly dead. The white masks had been removed, along with the sleeves of their cloaks and shirts, showing to all the Dark Mark burned into their skin. The men recognized several of the dead: Rookwood, the Brothers Lestrange, Seniors Crabbe and Goyle. It was a force both would have struggled against, even together with help.

Stretched out above them, hooked onto nothing in blatant disregard for the impossibility of such action, was a sign proudly proclaiming, "_THIS DEATH EATER ANNILATION HAS BEEN BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE GHOSTS OF THE MARAUDERS._"

Dumbledore's jaw dropped as Remus collapsed onto the pavement. This was nothing like either one had expected, certainly not what they had feared. Both were at an utter loss for words, just staring at the message telling the world someone else out there was fighting back against the encroaching darkness.

"Wha-what do we do, now?" Lupin finally muttered.

Dumbledore shook his head, and motioned for the man to follow. "We should see what the others have found out and are planning."

So, with one glance back at the banner waving merrily in the wind, the two professors Disapparated to Grimmauld Place, hoping the Order had more information.

The 'meeting' was in complete chaos. Members were shouting back and forth, one at another, all trying to get their voices heard, so that no one could follow what was being said, argued or even discussed. The most vocal members were yelling at each other, while some figured to just wait it out, and were leaning against the walls of the room, watching all the commotion.

The two men took one look at each other and sighed before the Headmaster gripped his wand and silenced them.

"Now, can we please have order? I understand many disturbing events have occurred, and I would like to hear all the details before anything is decided."

The room eventually organized itself as people sat down and looked to the older man to direct the flow of information.

Dumbledore took a deep breath to still his still frayed nerves and started the actual meeting.

"Earlier today, Remus and I went to what we thought was another attack in Diagon Alley and were surprised to find the perpetrators had already been dealt with."

"What do you mean by that, Albus?" Molly Weasley asked.

Her face was withdrawn, showing the struggle she had had to deal with for the past year or so. She had never recovered from the loss of her two youngest, and to the surprise of others, she threw herself into the Order, making sure that, as she said, 'No one else will have to deal with their children being murdered by their best friend.'

"They were dead, masks and sleeves removed to prove identity and loyalty," Remus responded, thinking the Order's leader might not have wanted it revealed. He felt the others needed to know.

The gasps of shock echoed as all turned to see Dumbledore nod in agreement.

"So, someone is still daring to fight the Death Eaters," Fred commented.

"It's more than what we've been doing," George added.

"It might be, but I don't think that's all that has happened," Dumbledore cautioned. "Alastor, do you have anything more?"

"Aye," the gruff man responded. "The Ministry knows of four other attacks, all against the Death Eaters, and all left exactly like you described – except for a banner claiming ownership for the attacks."

"'oo could it be?" Fleur's accent broke through the surprised silence. "Aren't we ze only ones fighting ze Dark Lord?"

"Apparently not, lass. Four individuals or groups have claimed responsibility." He turned to look at Lupin. "They also claim to be Marauders."

Remus was surprised. "Marauders? Who?"

"WildFire, CelestialFury, EagleEye, and Lionheart."

The first name sparked a memory, but he immediately discounted it. It was too early, right? And, he wasn't even certain it would work.

"Never heard of them. As you know, there are only two Marauders left, and one is a deceiving rat."

"That may be," Albus replied, "but, why then do they tie themselves to the name?" He shook his head. "I'm afraid that will be a mystery for some time."

The other order members nodded, understanding what he wasn't saying. They did not have the time to search out the answer, not while fighting Voldemort and hiding from the Ministry at the same time.

They moved onto other, rather mundane information, mostly confirming rumors and discounting superstition. As before, whenever they got to this part of the meeting, members slowly left in ones, twos, and on a few occasions, in groups. When everything was presented, the only remaining people were Dumbledore and the 'Order Council' as it had come to be called: McGonagall, Snape, The Weasley Family, Fleur, Lupin, and Tonks. They were the ones who advised the Headmaster as what the Order should accomplish.

They were gathered around a semi-circular table so all could see each other, though some purposely avoided the eyes of certain members. Even among the Council, there was an air of distrust. It was worse with the Order members themselves.

Remus sat off to one side of the table, not really looking at the Weasley Family. He knew they had not forgiven him for trying to help Harry during the trial. He could understand their feelings of betrayal towards the young man, he might have even felt the same, if he did not know what had really happened, but still was disheartened that they refused to work with anyone who supported the former Boy-Who-Lived. It made it hard for both himself and Tonks.

He wanted to help them through this difficult time, to let them know their children were not dead, just unavailable for the next 4 years, but the theory that sparked the façade was never tested. It might not even be true – he could have really led all four youths to their deaths, and he had to deal with the fear almost every night. He refused to put that upon them as well… not to mention, he doubted they would listen to him in the first place - especially since he had no proof to offer them.

"I believe that concludes everything for tonight," Dumbledore said, interrupting Lupin's thoughts.

They all nodded and quietly walked out, Tonks taking Remus's hand when she noticed the looks the Weasley Matriarch was once again giving the man. He squeezed it in thanks, letting her know his feelings about her silent support.

They Apparated to his cottage and entered the living room. It was the one place he still owned from his times with the other Marauders. His parents had given it to him as a graduation gift, and quite often Sirius or Peter would crash there for a night. Now, it was the only place he felt comfortable to live in, since Grimmauld Place just reminded him too much of Sirius, and the Weasleys were there more often than not.

"Those names meant something to you," Tonks said after he closed the door to the outside. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Remus shook his head. "I only slightly recognize the first one. It reminds me of a nickname I'd heard before… a long time before, actually."

Tonks gently pushed him down onto the only couch and sat in his lap, facing him. "Tell me?" she requested softly.

Remus sighed. "It was what James used to call Lily whenever she got angry; said her hair reminded him of a flame."

"It does," a voice called out behind them. "Though I think Ginny's is closer to a living fire."

Tonks screeched and fell off her boyfriend. She nearly tripped over her feet as she pulled her wand out, prepared to face the danger.

Remus, on the other hand, froze in place, his eyes nearly bugging out in surprise. _That voice! It…it can't be! It's only been one year... _He turned his head to look at the intruders and saw four people leaning against the wall. The two women were being hugged from behind by the men, and all looked completely content, not afraid in the least.

"Who are you?" Tonks demanded. "Tell me now, before I decide to shoot first."

The raven haired man laughed. "Still wound up tight, Nymphadora? And I thought Remus would've helped you with the tension."

"Who are you?" she nearly growled.

"Oh, come on. I know I look older, but surely you can't have forgotten us after only one year!"

Remus blinked, his mind connecting the dots, but not believing it.

"Who?" Tonks asked, confused.

"Really, Tonks," the redheaded female replied. "After that summer where you and I talked about nothing but thick-headed boys, one would think you would remember me. After all, you're the one who gave me the needed advice to finally get the one I wanted."

Tonks frowned, knowing what she was talking about. "How do you know about that? The only other person who was there is dead."

The four newcomers blinked in surprise, before the raven haired man spoke again. "You never told her?" he asked, surprised.

Remus realized his thoughts were correct, no matter how far-fetched they seemed. Shaking his head, he replied, "I couldn't. There was a chance we were wrong, and I didn't want her to live with that burden."

The other man nodded. "Understandable. So, I guess I'll do the introductions." He turned slightly, releasing the red-haired woman, and stepped back, so he was between the two groups. "Nymphadora Tonks, let me re-introduce to you to Ginevra Weasley, Ronald Weasley, and Hermione Granger."

Tonks's mouth dropped.

"Oh, don't forget yourself," Ginny added with a slight giggle.

He nodded. "Of course. I am Harry Potter," he amended, bowing.

Tonks fainted.

Remus looked at her, laughed and stood up. "I'm glad to see you four again. Though, why are you so much older?"

"We spent the entire five years there," Hermione responded, moving to hug the graying man first. "It turns out, we aged faster there."

Remus nodded, and proceeded to hug everyone else; taking a bit longer on Harry, relieved the son of his best friend was still alive.

"We've got things to tell you, but it has to wait. We need to know what's going on with the war: Voldemort, the Ministry, and the Order," Harry told him as they woke Tonks up and sat down in a circle; the women had conjured chairs for them and their significant others.

Remus started explaining. "Well, the past year has been a mess…"

Albus Dumbledore stared at the silver bowl in front of him, his mind still going over the memories he had viewed. No matter how many times he watched them, he simply could not find any clues about the mysterious people who had struck such a devastating blow to Riddle's forces: no blood, no sign of a battle, nothing. It was as if they had Apparated in, surprised the Death Eaters, and took them out before they had a chance to fight back.

But who was that powerful? He would have problems doing so, himself, with just one group. But four?

Dumbledore gave a tiny shudder. _Anyone that powerful has the potential to drastically change the war._ He was worried, because he did not know what side they were on. _If Tom manages to convince them it would be better to join him, we would lose almost immediately._

It had happened before. For many years, Augustus Rookwood had stood against Voldemort, and showed it publicly. That was what surprised many when the Ministry finally uncovered his treasonous acts. Dumbledore was not certain when the man had changed sides, but he knew it was something Tom had offered. Threats did not work against him, because of his work as an Unspeakable. He had no family, no life outside his work. All Albus could believe happened was Riddle offered him more power or prestige.

He did not know what he would do, if the worst was to happen. He was running on the hope Fate would provide another way for Tom to be defeated. He could not believe the situation could be manipulated in such a way as to leave a man immortal; yet, at the same time, everything he knew about prophecies said this was the case.

For once, he hoped he was wrong.

The four travelers sat in silence as Remus finished explaining the situation. They knew it was going to be bad – Riddle had no one to oppose him who had the chance of defeating him. No one knew what magical processes he had completed to survive the thirteen years and make a new body.

"Remus," Hermione spoke up. "At the moment, do you think the Order has a chance of defeating him?"

Lupin shook his head. "No. All Albus seems to do is try to fix one problem, after it occurs, before the next one shows up. With the Order only responding to him, Voldemort has had complete reign to do as he wishes. The only reason he hasn't taken over the Ministry completely, is because there's enough members with seats on Wizengamot to stop the worst laws from passing. Barely."

_It's time to change that,_ Harry thought, smirking.

"Out of the 42 seats on Wizengamot, how many does Dumbledore control, directly or indirectly?" she continued.

"From what I understand, 19 are sided with Dumbledore, 20 are sided with Voldemort, and three have no heirs of age, or do not care to vote."

"Is he using the seats of Potter or Black?" Harry asked.

Lupin shook his head. "He tried, but Wizengamot tried to strike your chair, and Sirius's, from their ranks after your sentencing. Luckily, Dumbledore stopped it, though he had to sacrifice the control of the seats. In the end, the Wizengamot ruled, and I quote, 'The seats of Potter, Black, and Peverell shall remain empty, until such a time comes when a magical heir can be found and proven to have no intention of going against the legal Sovereign Power.'"

Hermione looked at Harry, surprised to see a grin sliding across his face. "Harry?" she questioned. "Why are you happy? With that law, you can't claim your birthright."

Harry chuckled. "Remember the History of Magical Britain discussion Sirius made us have? Remember the beginning?"

"I remember. But how does that hel…" She trailed off, as her mind made the connection Harry was implying. "Oh, they just did themselves in, didn't they?"

"Yup."

"Okay. That's settled." She turned to look at Remus again. "Can you get Dumbledore to allow us to join the Order? You said they had been trying to recruit extensively, but were having a hard time."

Tonks finally chimed in. "We can, but it will take both of us, and most likely some time. And the only reason we can is because no one knows we're involved."

"We can't really afford to have that much time lost," Ron said, frowning. "We can't let the Ministry, Riddle, or Dumbledore and the Order know what's really going on before we're ready. Because of that, we are on a somewhat restrictive timetable."

"We understand," Lupin replied. "However, everyone has been more cautious about allowing new members into the Order ever since we had two unknown Death Eaters try to join. We were lucky enough to be having their first meeting at Hogwarts and Fleur recognized one before the meeting began. We had to Obliviate them quickly and set it up as if they had not passed the requirements. Now, all newcomers must be recommended by two members, and pass an allegiance test."

"What allegiance test?" Ron asked.

"They have to show they are working against Voldemort and his supporters. The exact details are kept a secret. It changes every time, so the Death Eaters can't predict what it is, and prepare for it."

"Can we request for Fawkes to be our test? He'll show we are aligned with the light and have every intention of stopping Tom, without giving any other necessary information away," Ginny added.

Remus nodded. "It should be doable. I don't think we've had a newcomer ask for a phoenix. They usually ask for a Truth Stone, or Veritaserum. However, both have counters, though Veritaserum is harder to get and to test for."

"Try to set up a meeting with Dumbledore tomorrow. We want to join as soon as possible. This way, we can change how the Order goes about trying to find out who we are."

It took Remus and Tonks another two days, talking extensively with Dumbledore, before they could get the travelers permission to join the Order. The testing was to be done at Hogwarts itself, with the Headmaster, McGonagall, and Kingsley present.

The four travelers trudged up the path towards the castle, not speaking. They knew Dumbledore was most likely eavesdropping on them, in hopes to gain more information from them. They did not want to give anything away before everything was in place as they wanted.

As they approached, the doors opened to show Professor McGonagall and Shacklebolt. They greeted the newcomers, but the four of them could feel the uneasiness of the two adults. They walked in silence to the gargoyle blocking the entrance to the Headmaster's Office.

"Whatchamacallit," Minerva intoned. The statue moved aside, revealing the staircase.

They moved on to the rotating stone.

"A Muggle candy?" Hermione asked, surprised. She thought he would stay with the magical world.

"Yes. Albus does have a fascination with sweets."

They reached the top, and just as McGonagall was about to knock, they heard Dumbledore tell them to enter. She opened the door and everyone filed in, with Kingsley being the last one. They weren't surprised to see Remus and Tonks already there, waiting for them.

"I have come to understand you want to join the Order," Albus said without preamble. "I have to ask – Why?"

"We all have lost someone in this war. We want it to end, quickly, before any more are lost to the monster," Harry replied.

"Very well. Before we allow you to join, we must have proof of your re-"

Before he finished speaking, there was a flash of fire and melodic sound, and Fawkes appeared in the office, his tone more cheerful than any of the current members had heard in a year. The Phoenix took one look at the gathered four before letting loose what could only be described as a sound of pure joy, and landed on Harry's shoulder, rubbing his head against the man's cheek.

Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Shacklebolt were completely shocked to see the creature so taken with the newcomer that he was crooning to the man, and making a sound that sounded ridiculously close to a purr when Harry petted his head. The two reminded Albus how the phoenix would react with another boy, before his betrayal.

"Does this prove our intentions?" the man asked. "We will not betray the Order to Tom, or the Ministry. We will do everything we can to bring down the self-styled Dark Lord and his followers."

Dumbledore nodded absently. He had not expected this outcome, even when Remus had informed him of their request to be tested by Fawkes.

"What are your names?" McGonagall questioned.

The man stood up, Fawkes still on his shoulder. "These are my close friends, Mark and Ashley Previtt, and this is my wife, Christy Evans. I am John Evans."

"Per chance, are you related to the Muggle Evans Family?" Albus wondered.

"We are." Christy's face told the others that that was all they were going to say on that matter.

"Very well. The next meeting will be tomorrow evening. Remus and Tonks will take you to the building we hold them in. Here, read this before leaving."

The Head master gave them a piece of paper saying, "_The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix is at 12 Grimmauld Place, London_".

The four quickly read it and nodded to the older man, before taking their leave, Remus and Tonks going with them.

Once they were alone, Albus charmed the room against intrusion, and turned to his fellow freedom fighters.

"What do you think of them?"

"They are aligned to the light, I'll give them that," Kingsley responded. "But there's something… strange about them. As if they aren't who they say they are."

McGonagall nodded. "While Fawkes approved of them, and verified they won't betray the Order, I'm still uneasy about them. I just don't know why."

"Very well, we will have to keep an eye on them. I feel the same; as if they have a big secret they are keeping from us – one that could drastically change how we view them. Did either of you catch the slight distraction charm they wore?" Two confused stairs were his answer. "All four had a small notice-me-not charm on their faces. As if they didn't want us to take too close of a look, and remember. I would have denied them admission to the Order. However, for Fawkes appearing and being so… excited to see them…" He was not certain if that was the right word, but it would have to suffice. He could think of no other.

"Could they have bewitched Fawkes?" Kingsley asked.

"Impossible. Phoenixes are immune to most magic, and there are no ways of controlling a phoenix. Especially to get that kind of reaction."

"So, they were being truthful, but were hiding something? We will have to watch very closely."

Over the next few days, the four travelers were becoming somewhat uncomfortable with the situation. It was not Remus or Tonks who made them nervous, but the damage caused in the rest of magical Britain and the Muggle world. Voldemort was still attacking seemingly random targets, but the six of them, as well as most of the 'Executive Branch' of the Order, noticed they were much more cautious.

With good cause, it turned out, as the young adults had personally stopped several more attacks, always dealing with them before anyone else appeared, and removing both masks and sleeves, to display the Dark Mark. Those who were lucky enough to see them take down the Death Eaters described it as a short battle, where the lone attacker demolished the opposition, without receiving any sort of injury.

As they wore masking charms and cloaks with hoods up, no one got a clear picture of what they looked like. If the reports were to be believed, it was either one person, as tall as Hagrid, blasting the ground with one spell that took them out, or three males and a female, who danced around their opponents, or forty different witches and wizards who decided to stand up to the tyranny. Each report contradicted the others and tried to make it seem as if they were the sole authority. The _Daily Prophet_ was having a field day, blasting the "vigilantes," claiming they were trying to usurp the Ministry's authority. Rita Skeeter was especially vicious, going out of her way to release an article every day to tear at them.

Harry and the others did not care what the newspaper was printing. They knew Fudge was controlling it, just as he had back in Harry's fifth year, and they would take care of it once the threat of Riddle was gone. At the moment, they would sit together to read the latest in her 'damning' stories, and laugh at all the mistakes she made.

Not everything was humorous, unfortunately. Several families of the students they had attended Hogwarts were attacked, and a few students did not survive. Others were left orphans. The four tried their best to stop all the attacks they could, but there were too many for them to fight against effectively. According to Remus, Riddle still had over 1000 Death Eaters, most of them cannon fodder, under the Imperius.

The Imperiused Death Eaters were controlled directly by Voldemort, and no matter what the four companions tried, they could not be broken free. Both girls had spent hours crying in the arms of the guys after they had to kill one they considered an innocent victim in the war, because that poor victim was going to kill another innocent bystander in the fight. Harry and Ron were also depressed by the situation. All four understood there were going to be victims in the war that had nothing to do with either side; they would do all they could to protect them, but they were not going to risk their own lives. As sad as it sounded, at the moment, their own lives were more important, because they were actually able to do something against the rising darkness. It was a heavy burden to carry, and several times, each wondered if they would crack under the pressure.

The next meeting of The Order of the Phoenix could not come soon enough, and by the time everyone had gathered at Grimmauld Place, there were more members there than had been in the past several months.

"I'm pleased to see everyone was able to make it today," Dumbledore told the gathered group. "These are trying times, and the more information we share, the better our chances are at stopping Tom."

"Does anyone know who the vigilantes are?" Emmeline Vance questioned.

The rumors of someone successfully fighting against the Death Eaters had attracted more attention than the four 'students' had imagined, and the full Order had shown up to hear what was really going on.

All over the room, heads shook and people muttered 'no'. Only Harry and his three friends stayed silent on the matter, wondering what the other members thought of their actions.

"They have successfully stopped over 20 attacks so far," Kingsley added.

"But they are killing them!" Molly protested. "Who gives them that right?"

"Would you rather they just leave them for the Aurors to gather up and then be released in a few days to harm others again?" Tonks rebuked. "There might be some who are Imperiused among the Death Eaters, but I believe they are doing more good than harm. If you look at the track record, the attacks have dropped by over 50% since they started striking back!"

"Be that as it may," Albus interrupted. "They are still taking lives. We are not gods. We do not have that right."

Most of the members nodded in agreement.

"So, you are telling us we will never win then?" Remus spoke up. "We trap them; they are arrested; three days later, they are free again, to cause just as much harm as before, with no punishment. Meanwhile, in every battle, we have members who are injured, or killed. We are not growing, they are."

"We will find a way to stop them. Just be patient a little bit longer."

"How much longer? A week? A year? Ten years? When we've lost half of our members? Or when everyone here is dead?"

"Your words are not helping, wolf," Snape sneered. "We are here to follow Dumbledore's orders. He is the leader of this ragtag group of misfits. Not you. Not Potter either. You do remember how that turned out, don't you?"

Angry muttering ran through the group at Harry's name. It was still a very dark spot for the order. The hero they had been protecting, the boy they believed would save them from the tyranny of the Dark Lord, had turned against them, and destroyed their belief in the possibility of winning for several months. They were still just barely starting to recover enough to fight the Death Eaters on even ground. The morale of the Order was a delicate item to balance since his execution.

"I have one question for you," Christy Evans said.

"Ah, one of our new members," Dumbledore replied. "Everyone, I would like you to meet John and Christy Evans, and Mark and Ashley Previtt." He motioned to the four newcomers. "They recently passed the test to join. Fawkes himself approved their membership."

He added the last bit to give the other members more confidence in their selection. The four of them were the first new members since Fleur had discovered the near fatal mistake with the Death Eaters.

Christy nodded in thanks to Dumbledore. "I know who you believe us to be related to. It is true. But I wonder, what was Harry Potter's motive for killing his friends?"

The other adults stared at them in surprise. They were asking questions about the trial now? After a year had passed?

"I've kept up with everything that went on with the trial, and not ONCE did anyone ever ask, 'What did Harry Potter get out of killing his friends?' Everyone just assumed he did, based on what was shown to them. So, I ask you: What was his motive, to turn his back on the ones that he'd tried to protect for years before."

"Power, of course," Snape drawled. "Potter always was trying to get more power. He always had to be the center of attention."

"And if that is true," Christy countered. "Then why, when attention wasn't called to him, he did not purposely go out to get more?"

"You don't know what you are talking about. Potter did anything he could to get more. Just look at the whole incident with the Tournament."

"From what I've been told, he did not enter himself into that. Neither did he ask for the ramifications from it. He did his best to survive."

"As entertaining as it is to engage in a debate with you, what is your purpose in asking this?"

"My 'nephew' is a good man. He never tried to hurt another when he could avoid it, except those who made it known to him they were going to hurt him or those he associated with. So, why was this never brought up in the trial? Everyone talked about the things that were printed in the Daily Prophet, but everyone here should know they never printed anything correct about Harry Potter."

"And why did you not say anything, if you believed in him?" Snape snapped. "You had ample time to come to London to ask to be a witness."

"Unfortunately, at the time, I was indisposed. Under no circumstances could I have come to that farce of a trial. It is only now, that I have a chance to ask some of the questions that have been bugging me from the beginning."

Everyone could hear the regret and anger in her voice as she talked about the event. However, no one could understand why she was so focused on it.

"Then you should just keep your mouth shut, and let the real fighters decide what to do now."

"Severus!" Albus exclaimed, anger tinting his voice. "That is enough!" He turned to face Christy and the other travelers. "While I do not agree with Severus's sentiment about our actions, I have to ask why you are bringing it up now, when there is nothing we can do about it anymore."

"I am trying to clear a good man's name. I am surprised you are not trying to do the same, after the mistakes you made with Sirius Black."

She and the three others stood up and started walking toward the door.

"Everyone here is among those who knew Harry Potter the best, outside of his classmates and friends, and yet only one of you even tried to do anything during the trial. It saddens me that you could think so little of a boy who tried his best to help everyone who needed it. If this is what the fighters of Voldemort's opposition are like, then we will take up this fight on our own. You are no better than that self-serving lunatic."

"Potter killed my babies!" Molly Weasley shouted. She could no longer hold it in, hearing all the events that haunted her to this day again.

"I highly doubt he did," Mark responded, gripping Ashley's hand. "From everything I've heard and read about him, he always tried to keep them out of danger. Why would he kill them, then?"

"You all should be ashamed of yourselves," Ashley added. "All these points are something you should have brought up in the trial, instead of just letting the prosecution run wild. I hope you all have a hard time sleeping at night, remembering how you condemned an innocent man to death."

Without another word, they walked out the door, leaving a stricken group behind them.

After several minutes, Molly finally whispered, "It's lies, isn't it? He killed them, right?"

"I don't know," Arthur Weasley replied, holding his wife to him. "I really don't know."

Nothing else was said as they listened to the tears of a mother who wept for her lost children, and one who might not have been as guilty as they had believed.

A/N: I know several of you are going to wonder why Ginny, Ron, and Hermione are reacting so harshly to everyone else about the trial. Be assured, it will be explained in the next chapter.

I apologize about the long wait (over a year and a half!). I started working on my Bachelor's Degree and am working full time as well, so free time isn't something I have a lot of right now. However, I think I finally have found a way to get more time to write. Hopefully, the next chapter won't take as long.

I want to thank my beta, _MinistryMalcontent, _for his help. Without it, _Fate's Irony_ would not be nearly what it is.


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